Chamber and committees

There will still be a significant saving then.

That is a considerable saving—that is interesting.

All colleagues will probably ask about co-design—it is a major part of the bill and is an issue of concern to the committee because of its implications, not least for the committee’s scrutiny function. Donna Bell gave detailed replies on that on Tuesday, when she talked about five themes: keeping care support local; information sharing; making sure that people’s voices are heard; realising rights and responsibilities; and valuing the workforce. You said that those themes are important and that

“the co-design work for the primary legislation has, in effect, been concluded and that we will move on to the development of further work on areas such as the charter, complaints and advocacy.”

You also said:

“we already have a good understanding of what is required for the secondary legislation.”—[Official Report, Finance and Public Administration Committee, 23 January 2024; c 10-11.]

If that is the situation, is there any possibility of including more on co-design in the bill at stage 2, or perhaps at stage 3, so that there is more of it in the primary legislation?

I want both.

Basically, the GDP deflator is about 1.7 per cent and you are using an inflation rate of 2 per cent. Is that right?

Thanks very much. I will now open the session to colleagues around the table. Liz Smith is first.

Those are the figures that I just gave—that is fine.

On Tuesday, Donna Bell said:

“you would expect us to build in a range of costs because of future potential uncertainty”.—[Official Report, Finance and Public Administration Committee, 23 January 2024; c 4.]

Where does the greatest uncertainty lie in the variables? Not all the figures vary by 45 per cent. What is being done to address the greatest variables?

We will always have those variabilities—

—but will they be reduced by the time we get to the stage 1 debate, or will we still be looking at those figures?

Incidentally, I have a wee query. Why are carer breaks classed as “Service Strategy” in the financial memorandum? I would have thought that “Carer breaks” would have been a much easier way to explain that, so that anyone looking at it—a layperson—would understand a wee bit more about what that money was being spent on.

Okay.

On digital, the business case says:

“New technology will be required to deliver the integrated social care and health and social care record.”

It mentions the

“need to invest in the sector”,

and it says:

“There is significant work already underway to ensure the NHS has the capability and capacity to support the introduction of the record.”

The word “significant” can mean anything, of course. What are we looking at by way of costs for that? When will that work conclude?